Graduate Student News

Fall Convocation Medallist: Governor General Gold Medal Winner Brodie Hobson, PhD, Building Engineering

Brodie Hobson was studying Architectural Conservation and Sustainability Engineering at Carleton when, during his undergrad third year building science course taught by Prof. Burak Gunay, he discovered his interest in making buildings more efficient by improving the systems they use for heating and cooling.

“I had really enjoyed the subject matter,” he says. “The research discussed in class was related to HVAC systems and data analytics. I found those topics really interesting.”

Consequently, he focused his Building Engineering master and doctoral work on how buildings manage their energy use. He points to the lack of energy savings from commercial buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When you consider that 90 to 95 per cent of people had left the buildings, the amount of energy that was being used for heating, cooling and lighting was close to the same level as when the building was full,” he explains.

“My research has focused on occupant-centric controls,” says Hobson. “It’s about trying adjust how much heating, cooling and ventilation we’re providing to the building – based on the actual number of people inside.”

For his studies, Hobson’s team implemented energy-saving measures in campus buildings in partnership with Carleton’s Facilities Management and Planning team.

“For the physical implementation of the work, we conducted it on the top floor of the of the Engineering Design Centre.”

Since successfully defending his thesis, Hobson has been working at Natural Resources Canada as a research engineer. He notes many on his team are fellow Carleton alumni.

“I enjoyed doing research at Carleton, and I am happy that I can continue doing research with people from Carleton in my new role.”

In addition to his full-time position, Hobson now teaches the same building science course that first introduced him to his field of expertise. He encourages future students to not be discouraged when facing new challenges and to continue to explore where their passion lies.

“I was a middling student in my undergrad until I got into those later years of study and started to find the things that I was truly interested in,” he says. “If you have a passion for something, the results will follow once you’ve immersed yourself in it.”

Fall Convocation Medallist: University Medal for Outstanding Graduate Work PhD Winner Lindsay Robinson, Political Science

Carleton’s depth of expertise in international relations and gender and diversity appealed to Lindsay Robinson as she searched for a school to complete her PhD in Political Science.

“I do feminist, critical post-colonial, decolonial, anti-imperialist research, so the strength of the faculty drew me in,” she says, noting the program’s inclusiveness as it related to her research. “It’s wonderful for students of these critical theories to be able to have a space where their work is welcomed.”

Robinson’s studies focused on the representation of girls in climate change politics. Her research revealed that while girls have been celebrated in superficial ways, that was far from the extent of their engagement on the issue.

“When we take the time to listen to what girls are saying, we find spaces of social movement politics, of advocating for creative and transformative solutions to the workings of power that often remain unquestioned,” she says. “Girls are doing impressive things; we’re not giving their political arguments enough credit.”

Robinson looks back with appreciation on the research opportunities she embraced and the valuable professional connections she forged throughout her doctoral journey.

“It was great to have a space where you can discuss ideas openly and get feedback from other people,” she says. “It was wonderful to have that supportive environment.”

Now working as a consultant specializing in gender and global development, Robinson advises future students that might be considering advanced degrees to ensure they take care of all areas of their daily life while in pursuit of their education.

“Maintain your friendships and aspects of your life that you love – whether it is something like yoga or dance,” she says. “That balance will allow you to have more mental space for intellectual work.”

Fall Convocation Medallist: University Medal for Outstanding Graduate Work Master’s Winner Claire Peneycad, Biology

Claire Peneycad was completing her undergraduate degree at Carleton in Health Sciences when she realized she wanted to continue her education in Biology.

“Health sciences is really interdisciplinary,” she says. “Because of this, I was exposed to a lot of different aspects of health research and I knew that going forward I wanted to have my focus be on molecular biology.”

While completing her Master of Science in Biology, she conducted research focused on how cancer cells respond to splicing stress.

“Splicing is one of several critical steps in the processing of our genetic information. By inhibiting this step, we were able to explore how the cells respond on a molecular level,” she says. “My thesis research focused on understanding one specific stress pathway that gets activated in response to splicing inhibition.”

Completing both her degrees at Carleton, Peneycad says she appreciated the support the university community provided.

“I had a great supervisor, and I made a lot of friends, so I was in an environment where I felt that I could ask questions, make mistakes, and learn new things,” she says, noting the challenges that come with conducting research experiments. “It was helpful to have people around me who were experiencing similar challenges with their experiments, and we would encourage each other through them.”

Now a research assistant at Carleton, Peneycad hopes to continue working in research with a focus on clinical health. She advises future students to not let lack of experience deter them from trying new things.

“Don’t write off a certain area that you might be interested in, just because you feel like you don’t have all of the background knowledge or experience,” she says. “The point of being a student is to learn, so you don’t need to have all the knowledge or experience when you’re just starting out.”

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